1891 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
| 1891 Nebraska Old Gold Knights football | |
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Nebraska state champion
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| Conference | Independent |
| 1891 record | 2–2 |
| Head coach | Theron Lyman (1st season) |
| Home stadium | Lincoln Park |
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The 1891 Nebraska Old Gold Knights football team was represented the University of Nebraska in the 1891 college football season. The team played its single home game at Lincoln Park, in Lincoln, Nebraska.
1891 was the second year that Nebraska fielded a football team. Although the team was not provided with a head coach by the university that year, Theron Lyman (a football coach and former player at Iowa College) assisted Nebraska in their preparations for the game against the University of Iowa Hawkeyes, in order to increase the competitiveness of the Old Gold Knights as a viable opponent for the Iowa squad to play against.
Nebraska had planned a rematch with Doane during the previous season which was never scheduled. This missed contest was more than made up for, as the Old Gold Knights faced Doane for three of Nebraska's four games of 1891.
Although Doane scored the first points of the game - and the first points ever scored against Nebraska, the remainder of the day belonged to the Old Gold Knights, as Nebraska posted 16 unanswered points before the half.
The game was reportedly very physical, with several players suffering serious injuries, to the point that the Doane squad considered calling off the rest of the game, though they eventually agreed to a shortened 15-minute 2nd half. Nebraska put up an additional 12 points before the game ended, finishing with a 28-4 victory.
Nebraska was looking for more playing time in preparations for their upcoming contest against the established Iowa Hawkeyes team, and scheduled a rematch with Doane. However, still playing without a head coach, team Captain Ebenezer Mockett withdrew from classes and the team prior to the game, leaving the Old Gold Knights short on leadership.
Doane had practiced intensely for the game, with an eye to avenge their previous losses, while several Nebraska players remained out with injuries from the previous game. Even so, Nebraska reportedly entered the game somewhat overconfident due to their previous victories, a feeling reinforced when Nebraska scored the first points off of an early Doane fumble, and ultimately running up to a 6-0 lead.
Both teams traded possession and points repeatedly afterwards, but Nebraska found itself behind on the scoreboard for the first time ever when Doane pulled ahead to 10-6 after the start of the 2nd half. Although the Old Gold Knights responded with six points of their own to regain the lead, Doane responded in kind and handed Nebraska the first loss in the program's history.
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